Portable projection screen



Feb. 22, 1966 R. E. JACOBSON 3,236,287

PORTABLE PROJECTION SCREEN Filed Dec. 20, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR.

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PORTABLE PROJECTION SCREEN Filed Dec. 20, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 vswroza.

United States Patent 3,236,287 PORTABLE PROJECTION SCREEN Robert E.Jacobson, Elk Grove Village, Ill., assignor to Radiant ManufacturingCorporation, Morton Grove, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Dec.20, 1963, Ser. No. 332,137 1 Claim. (Cl. 160-24) This invention has todo with portable projection screens of the types which have a verticalhollow supporting post, an elongated screen case having a roller mountedflexible screen therein and pivotally mounted on the supporting post forswinging movement between a vertical position for transportation andstorage purposes and a horizontal position for picture exhibitingpurposes, and an extension rod slidably mounted in the supporting postand movable between a raised position for supporting the flexible screenin picture exhibiting position and a lowered position for locking thescreen case in its vertical position. A pair of brackets are carried bythe supporting post, a plurality of legs are pivotally connected to theother of said brackets and to the legs to form a collapsible stand forthe supporting post, the legs being swingable between a normallyextended position (to which they are urged by springs or gravity orboth) for engaging the floor and supporting the supporting post in itsvertical position for picture exhibiting purposes and a collapsedposition for transportation and storage purposes.

Specifically, in accordance with this invention and as an object of thisinvention, a plurality of butterfly springs are carried by the pivotalconnections between the links and the bracket to which they arepivotally connected, one of the ends of the butterfly springs engagingthe links and the other of the ends of the springs extending into thesupporting post in alignment with the extension rod. The butterflysprings are inactive when the extension rod is raised from its lowerposition to allow extension of the legs to their normally extendedposition. When the extension rod is moved to its lowered position tolock the screen case in its vertical position, the extension rod engagessaid other ends of the butterfly springs to stress the butterfly springsand cause said one ends of the butterfly springs to resiliently pressagainst the links and resiliently bias the normally extended legs totheir collapsed position for causing automatic collapsing of the legswhen lifted from the floor and for maintaining the legs in theircollapsed position for transportation and storage purposes until theextension rod is raised from its lowered position.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art upon reference to the accompanyingspecification, claim and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the portable projection screen of thisinvention raised from the floor and with the screen case locked and thelegs in collapsed position for transportation and storage purposes;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 1 with the legs extendedand resting on the floor and with the screen case released so that itmay be swung to a horizontal position for picture exhibiting purposes;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the legsin extended position and resting on the floor but with the screen caselocked in vertical position;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal view taken substantially along the line 4-4 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, with parts broken away,taken through the portable projection screen and showing the legsextended and the screen case release as in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional View similar to FIG. 5 butshowing the projection screen collapsed and the screen case locked as inFIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a horizontal view of a portion of the projection screen takensubstantially along the line 77 of FIG. 5.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 4, the portable projection screen of thisinvention is generally designated at 10. It includes a normallyvertically arranged hollow supporting post 11 upon which is slidablymounted a handle member 12. The handle member 12 is provided with adouble-acting nipping lever 13 which may be of the kind disclosed inNicholas Patent No. 2,812,808. When the nipping lever 13 is depressed,the handle member 12 may be adjustably positioned along the supportingpost 11 and when the nipping lever 13 is released, the handle member 12is locked in position on the supporting post 11 against movement ineither direction. The handle member 12 pivotally carries a bracket 14which in turn is secured to a screen case 15, the screen case 15 beingswingable to a vertical position for transportation and storage purposesand being swingable to a horizontal position for picture exhibitingpurposes. The screen case 15 is provided with end-caps 16 and a rollermounted flexible screen is carried within the screen case 15. The freeend of the flexible screen is provided with a suspension slat 17 havinga bail 18 for withdrawing the flexible screen from the screen case whenthe screen case is in its horizontal position for picture exhibitingpurposes.

Slidably mounted in the hollow supporting post 11 is an extension rod 19having on its upper end a hook member 20 which is provided with a detent21 for receiving the bail 18 is picture exhibiting position when theextension rod 19 is raised, and with a locking member 22 engaging one ofthe end-caps 16 of the screen case 15 when the extension rod 19 is movedto a lowered position for locking the screen case in its verticalposition for transportation and storage purposes. The extension rod 19extends upwardly from the supporting post 11 through a cap 23 suitablysecured in place on the supporting post. Below the cap 23 there isprovided a double-acting nipping lever 24 which is urged into grippingrelation with the extension rod 19 by a spring 25, as shown more clearlyin FIG. 5. The nipping lever 24 abuts and pivots in an opening in thesupporting post to prevent downward movement of the extension rod 19 andit abuts and pivots about a projection 26 in the supporting post toprevent upward movement of the extension rod 19. When however, thenipping lever 24 is manually manipulated against the action of thespring 25, the extension rod 19 is released and may be moved upwardlyand downwardly.

An upper bracket 30 is slidably mounted on the supporting post 11 and aplurality of legs 32 are pivotally connected thereto by means of pins33. The lower ends of the legs 32 are adapted to rest upon the floor 37for supporting the supporting post and, hence, the projection screen invertical position when the legs 32 are in their extended position.Another bracket 31 is rigidly secured to the bottom of the supportingpost 11 and one end of a plurality of links 34 are pivotally connectedto the bracket 31 by pins 35 while the other ends of the links 34 arepivotally connected to the legs 32 by pins 36. Thus, the legs 32 and thelinks 34 in conjunction with the brackets 30 and 31 form a collapsiblestand for the projection screen. The legs 32 may be swung to a collapsedposition as illustrated in FIG. 1 and to an extended position asillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The legs normally assume the extendedposition, they being urged to this position by the weight of the legs orby suitable springs (not shown) carried by the pins 36 and engaging thelegs 32 and links 34.

As shown more clearly in FIGS. 5 to 7, a plurality of butterfly springs50 are carried by the pins 35 which pivotally connect the links 34 tothe bracket 31. One end 51 of each of the .butterfly springs 50 extendsinto the supporting post 11 in alignment with the extension rod 19 andthe other ends 52 thereof engage against the links 34. The lower end ofthe extension rod 19 is provided with a head 53 which is adapted toengage the ends 51 of the butterfly springs 50.

When the extension rod 19 is moved upwardly from its lowered position,as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, the butterfly springs 50 are inactiveand the legs 32 automatically swing to their normally extended position.When, however, the extension rod 19 is moved to its lowered position forlocking the screen case 15 in its vertical position, the head 53 on thelower end of the extension rod engages the ends 51 of the butterflysprings 50 to stress springs, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 5. Thisstressing of the butterfly springs 50 operates to resiliently bias thelegs 32 toward their collapsed position, but since the projection screenis resting on the floor 37, the legs 32 remain in their extendedposition, as shown in FIG. 3. When, however, the portable projectionscreen is lifted from the floor, the stressed butterfly springs 50resiliently and automatically move the legs 32 to their collapsedposition, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6. The legs 32 are thusmaintained by the butterfly springs 50 in their collapsed position fortransportation and storage purposes. When the nipping lever 24 ismanipulated to release the extension rod 19, the extension rod movesupwardly from its lowered position under the action of the butterflysprings 50 to release the screen case 15, and since the butterflysprings 50 are then rendered inactive, the legs 32 automatically swingto their normal extended position.

While for purposes of illustration one form of this invention has beendisclosed, other forms thereof may become apparent to those skilled inthe art upon reference to this disclosure and, therefore, this inventionis to be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

In a portable projection screen having a vertical hollow supportingpost, an elongated screen case having a roller mounted flexible screentherein and pivotally mounted on the supporting post for swingingmovement between a vertical position for transportation and storagepurposes and a horizontal position for picture exhibiting purposes, anextension rod slidably mounted in the supporting post and movablebetween a raised position for picture exhibiting purposes and a loweredposition for locking the screen case in its vertical position, a pair ofbrackets carried by the supportingpost, a plurality of legs pivotallyconnected to one of the brackets, and a plurality of links pivotallyconnected to the other of the brackets and to the legs, said legs beingswingable between a normally extended position for engaging the floorand supporting the supporting post in its vertical position for pictureexhibiting purposes and a collapsed position for transportation andstorage purposes, the improvement comprising a plurality of butterflysprings carried by the pivotal connections between the links and saidother of the brackets and having one of their ends engaging the linksand the other of their ends extending into the supporting post inalignment with the extension rod, said butterfly springs being inactivewhen the extension rod is raised from its lowered position to allowextension of the legs of their normally extended position, and saidextension rod engaging said other ends of the butterfly springs when theextension rod is moved to its lowered position to lock the screen casein its vertical position to stress said butterfly springs and cause saidone ends of the butterfly springs to resiliently press against the linksand resiliently bias the normally extended legs to their collapsedposition for causing automatic collapsing of the legs when lifted fromthe floor and for maintaining the legs in their collapsed position untilthe extension rod is raised from its lowered position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,591,244 4/1952Du Mais et al. 16024 2,708,559 5/1955 Du Mais l24 X 3,164,348 1/1965Armstrong 248171 HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

